Replacing an upstream O2 Sensor in a 2010 Chevy Aveo with a Bosh Universal O2 Sensor (15730). All of the wiring instructions assume that two of the four wires from the original sensor will be the same color - indcating that those will be the heater wires. However, the Aveo Sensor has one grey, one purple, one white and one black wire. I can't contact Bosch on the weekend, and I'm stumped. Has anyone done this repair who can clue me in?

Original equipment is $190.00. The Bosh is $36.00. The car belongs to my son's girlfriend who is earning minimum wage. The instructions that came with the Bosch are color coded, but they don't match up to the original color scheme.

On the harness side, the wires are two white, one brown, and one brown with a black stripe.

The OEM o2 unit has four wires. Grey, white, black and purple. Bosch lists the 15730 as the correct replacement. The Bosch has two white wires, one grey and one black. The wiring tableincluded with the Bosch incorrectly states that two of the OEM wires would be the same color. If that were true, the instructions would otherwise make sense. But, because that is not true for my unit, the instructions are of no help. I understand that I may have wasted my $36.00 and will need to advise her to spring for an OEM replacement, but thought I would at least ask if anyone might know how its done before giving up. Thanks.

You really should return the sensor and not install it. You're trying to eliminate codes and driveability issues yet you are installing a part that will cause them even when it is installed correctly. If it was even close to good enough to be in there you wouldn't see such a huge gap in the price. We are trying to tell you that you are wasting your effort, wasting your money, and you will not solve the problem you are having. You will simply waste 36 perfectly good dollars.

For minimum wage she has a hell of a lot newer car than I ever have. Repairs are a cost of ownership. The amount of gas that will be wasted from a poorly reading sensor alone will more than pay for the right one to be installed. Also, when the sensor gives the wrong readings and the car runs rich that excess fuel goes out of the exhaust and stays in the catalyst, where it proceeds to destroy it and you'll be out $1000 to fix it plus the $190 for the right sensor. Your choice what to do. But thats how it will play out.

I decided to replace the o2 sensor because the check engine light is constant, with an OBDII code of P0036. I naively trusted that the universal would fit as advertized, and trimmed the wires before realizing I could not reconcile the wiring chart. So, I'm out of luck on the return. But, I think you are correct that I'm risking making things worse. I appreciate your help.

Thanks. I have managed to mess this one up pretty good, but at least I did not cut off the harness! It bothered me that the girl was driving with the check engine light on with no plans (or money) to fix it. So, I read the reviews on Amazon, bought the bosch sensor and volunteered to install. I did not know if it was that was an upstream sensor code or the downstream, but thought that $36.00 was not too much to pay to trouble shoot. Looks like I probabaly cut off the connector of a perfectly good upstream sensor. Any chance I can just solder that old one back together? Or am I now looking at replacing both the upstream and the downstream?

You are more that likely going to want to replace the one you cut the wires on....

You can repair those but you have to be positive you have got the correct length wire and that the connection you make isn't changing the resistance of the circuit. The PCM use this sensor to see whats going on in the exhaust, it goes from 100mvs being a lean reading to 900mv indicating a rich reading. So you can see how just a little bit of extra resistance here or there can really throw off the readings...

I know it's a bad deal.....In the automotive world there are some shortcuts that aren't quite so bad....You get a $20 set of pads and the pitfalls might be some squeeking or maybe get a lot of dust on your wheels......You go with the 1 year belts and maybe you're changing them a lot more often....

O2s are a little more critical, beside possibly using more fuel there is all the bad things that go along with that.

That's cool you're trying to help out your son's girl....I'm sure you had the best intentions.....Good thing is at least you researched it......I'll leave the repair up to you, you know your soldering skills. The main thing would be to make sure all the wires are the exact same lenght and you get a good solder joint (no cold solder joints). Also it's critical it's sealed properly, heat shrink tubing, tape it up.

OE is obviously the best way but I've had good luck with Denso when I can't go OE...I would stay away from Bosch, seriously. I'm sure some of the guys will chime in with the brands that work good for them......I've just had to warranty too many Bosch O2s to mess with them anymore....

– The sensor receives the reference air through the connection cable. This means that the connector must be clean and dry. Contact spray, and anti-corrosion agents etc. are forbidden. – The connection cable must not be soldered. It must only be crimped, clamped, or secured by screws

Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.

I just completed this repair on my 09 Chevy Aveo and ran into the same issue in wiring the Bosch sensor. I ordered the ac delco exact fit and got it home and was able to cross reference the ac delco replacement wiring and the original defective o2 sensor. The ac delco o2 sensor had the exact same wire coloring as the Bosch. I found that the purple and white wires correspond to the heater wires described in the instructions (2 white wires on the Bosch o2 sensor) black and gray match exactly from the original wire harness/ plug to the Bosch 02 sensor. I hope this helps and helps anyone else. Reset ECU by disconnecting neg battery terminal for approx 10 min. and reconnect. I have not had the check engine light come back on as of yet.